32 replies to this topic

[Kirbutashi]

In case you hadn't already seen the news, Nintendo announced at its investors meeting its intentions to offer digital versions of video games, starting with New Super Mario Bros 2 for 3DS. Wii U's launch will also offer digital copies.

Iwata was quick to stress retail's continued importance in their strategy by leaving pricing of digital content available at retail outlets up to the businesses. They stated the importance of such content remaining available to those who are uncomfortable buying content online with a credit card or for children.

Software would only work on the system that it was purchased on. No word on whether or not you can restore or transfer should your original system bite the dust.

[levitynyc]

Love the idea, especially for portable games. Fucking hate carrying around little carts.

[TheKurichan]

Love the idea, especially for portable games. Fucking hate carrying around little carts.

So long as you don't lose all your games when you lose/break/sell your console. That happened to me with Wii and DSi.

[ex0du5]

I would totally be in, were it not for the fact that it only works on the system for which it was purchased. I would hate to have a 3DS XL situation where I want to play my 3DS games at home on the XL, and on the go on my regular 3DS, and not being able to do so freely.

[SwimOdin]

It's nice to see Nintendo finally taking some steps in this direction, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think they'll still screw it up.

[PlayerOneCJ]

I would not be surprised to see Microsoft and maybe Sony go that direction in the next generation. In a way, it sort of is anti-used games, but if they plan on continuing to sell physical copies too then it covers both and keeps retail happy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

This is terrible news. Nintendo has long been one of the pillars of disregarding the digital download movement. Well, in any case, I don't much care about this so long as physical copies are still produced. I'll be supporting physical media right to the bitter end. Sure, I like the convenience of digital downloads same as anyone, but I also like being able to point to what I spent my money on, being the owner of what I spent my money on and deciding if I ever want to sell or trade it for something else.

DOWN WITH DIGITAL ONLY.

[Tron]

This is terrible news. Nintendo has long been one of the pillars of disregarding the digital download movement. Well, in any case, I don't much care about this so long as physical copies are still produced. I'll be supporting physical media right to the bitter end. Sure, I like the convenience of digital downloads same as anyone, but I also like being able to point to what I spent my money on, being the owner of what I spent my money on and deciding if I ever want to sell or trade it for something else.

DOWN WITH DIGITAL ONLY.

Right there with ya, brother.

[PlayerOneCJ]

I would have agreed with you when I was younger but as I've gotten older I have little use for a large game library of physical copies. Nintendo's own games? Sure, I'll buy physical copies of those as long as they continue quality box art and manuals. A lot of other companies no longer care about that stuff though, so in those cases I'm finding I'd rather buy digitally (i.e. Vita games that come with nothing but the tiny card).


For Nintendo, I think two pieces of the DD puzzle are missing:

• A real "account" strategy so that you could re-attribute your account and re-download prior purchases to new hardware (if lost or stolen)
• An easy way to back up save and system data that could be restored on new hardware.

Sony's the only hardware company I know of to offer backup options for both their current hardware platforms. And despite it being a little clunky, it works/does the trick. Granted, a lot of people probably wouldn't do it/wouldn't know how to do it (I'd love to know how many people have used the PS3 or Vita backup utilities).


But, I agree that not being able to sell back or trade digital content sucks. If game prices dropped or were more fluid for digital copies this wouldn't be as much of an issue. And Nintendo's doing an interesting thing there allowing retailers to set pricing for digital copies they sell. That could alleviate at least some of this. I'm curious to see how that part of their strategy works out.

[Jave]

If it's something small that I can play in bite-sized chunks, I'm down with getting it digitally, mostly for the sake of variety, but for anything that I plan on seriously investing time into, I'd rather have a physical copy.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

If it's something small that I can play in bite-sized chunks, I'm down with getting it digitally, mostly for the sake of variety, but for anything that I plan on seriously investing time into, I'd rather have a physical copy.

EVen then I'd still like to have a physical copy. Some of my favorite games this gen - Shantae Risky's Revenge, Megaman 9 and 10, and Resident Evil 4 HD are ALL games I'd rather own physically. I'm not one of those classic gamers who will outright refuse to play digital games out of principal as I do understand that the digital venue is the only way in hell these games would ever get released, but even so I'd still rather have physical copies.

The other problem with digital downloads is the longevity of these games. Twenty years down the road, will I be able to go to classic gaming conventions and find games made in 2013? If you look at the download services now, there are already games that have come and gone, like the Master System version of R-Type. If I didn't own the cartridge for the master System, would that game exist at all?

I LOVE finding NES, Genesis, N64, even PS2/Xbox/GameCube games I had never played for only a couple bucks. If games go digital only, I not only won't be able to do this, but its very likely that I won't be able to buy those games in any format anyway - I highly doubt that Xbox Live/PSN/Whatever Nintendo's network is called will still have the games for sale in twenty years.

Edited by Satoshi_Matrix, 29 April 2012 - 10:36 AM.

[Owozifa]

I'd hate to think what the world would be like for me today if I didn't happen to own an EarthBound cartridge from Christmas 1995 still.

[momerath]

There's an optimist in me somewhere that wants to believe that years down the road, there will be an online service that will have lots of old stuff still available, sort of like how the iTunes Store has plenty of old music and albums available.

Unfortunately there's a realist that also says that's a crazy notion. Why would they continue selling the old product, when they could re-sell it again later in some "SUPER HD 4D REMASTER EDITION" or something?

[Owozifa]

Well I think the best example of a reassuring service right now is Good Old Games. They sell old stuff, and none of it relies on any sort of online activation. I don't know how broad that model can work, but I'm glad it's working for them and I have definitely enjoyed their services so far. The PC side is just so much more together on digital downloads as a whole, I feel.

[Jave]

EVen then I'd still like to have a physical copy. Some of my favorite games this gen - Shantae Risky's Revenge, Megaman 9 and 10, and Resident Evil 4 HD are ALL games I'd rather own physically.

Well, with those 4 examples in particular, I'm right with you. I meant more for things like match 3 games or Canabalt clones, time fillers more than games I'm actually going to invest in. That way, that one game I'm going to invest in can stay in the cartridge slot, and I can still have a little bit of everything conveniently on the front of my dashboard. I also like compilations for the same reason.

And I totally agree about this so-called "all digital future." I think some people are putting way too much faith in the idea that digital distribution is going to solve all our current problems.

[momerath]

Well I think the best example of a reassuring service right now is Good Old Games. They sell old stuff, and none of it relies on any sort of online activation. I don't know how broad that model can work, but I'm glad it's working for them and I have definitely enjoyed their services so far. The PC side is just so much more together on digital downloads as a whole, I feel.

I agree, the approach toward digital downloads with PC games has been very satisfying. GOG is a great service and the convenience / constant sales on Steam make it a fantastic platform as well.

I just hope that if consoles are going to be embracing a digital future, they'll take as many lessons from the successes of services like those as they can.

[BeauRosser]

I support this. I imagine Nintendo will have a one-time transfer option like they did with the DS to the 3DS for downloadable games. However, do not lose your system or have it get stolen. But hey, MAYBE Nintendo will start authenticating Club Nintendo accounts.

DOWN WITH CLUTTER AND PHYSICAL MEDIA.

[Dream]

In one of the articles I read, I got the impression that only 3DS digital games would be tied to the system, but Wii U would use an account based system. If so, this is quite a good move for Nintendo. Their games don't get discounted for years anyway so they wouldn't have the same issue that MS/Sony have where the physical product is cheaper than the digital version (at least for first party games).

And for the rest, allowing retailers to set pricing on download codes means digital versions could always be competitively priced. It's a brilliant idea. It may actually be the best idea I've seen yet to get console gamers accustomed to buying digital versions of full retail games, which of course would be ideal for Nintendo/3rd parties. They would still have to give retailers their cut, but production costs would be lower (no case/manual, cheaper shipping, etc) and the games can't be resold or traded in.

This could really help their digital strategy since Nintendo seems pretty clueless about pricing of digital content. I predict full games will be sold for full MSRP for years after release. If you thought MS/Sony were bad, wait till you see Nintendo. They also apparently don't like "sales" or any kind of "devaluing" of their product which has hindered their digital sales potential thus far. Sales on WiiWare/eShop are very rare (has it even happened at all?) and I expect that trend to continue (although 3rd parties may put some pressure on them about this). But these issues probably won't matter much because people will actually end up buying digital games from brick and mortar retailers. So eShop could still be successful even in spite of Nintendo.

Nintendo also gets the ability to sell digital games to the sizeable portion of their audience that doesn't have credit cards. And for digital only games, they might pick up some impulse buys from people just browsing at Best Buy or Walmart that would normally never bother to check the eShop.

It's great for consumers who like buying their games digitally because they can benefit from loss leader discounting or sales and it would provide some "competition" on digital sales that is not available on other platforms (where only the platform holders decide what/when things go on sale).

It's great for retailers since it maintains their relevancy, allows them to capture some revenue from digital sales, and gives them more product to sell that takes up less space. And since they can set the pricing, they have the flexibility to put them on sale like with their other products to get people in the door.

I don't see Nintendo releasing a proprietary hard drive for the Wii U so I'm expecting we will be able to download and run games of a regular USB hard drive (since Nintendo did go with regular SD cards for the 3DS). That would be pretty cool and hopefully will allow us to back up our games and save data like we would back up any other hard drive.

Edited by Dream, 03 May 2012 - 10:28 AM.

[Wenny]

DOWN WITH DIGITAL ONLY.

Did Nintendo say they were doing digital only?

[BeauRosser]

Did Nintendo say they were doing digital only?

YES.


Wait... no.

[Jave]

DOWN WITH CLUTTER AND PHYSICAL MEDIA.

It's only clutter if you keep everything.

[Ginormousj]

It's only clutter if you keep everything.

Yeah, but if dump my copy of Yoshi's Island, how will my hypothetical children raised on the PS5 appreciate the classics?

This is the (incredibly faulty) logic I use every time I toss a game into my binder of "timeless" classics.

[BeauRosser]

Throw it all out and get a hold of your life!

Edited by BeauRosser, 07 May 2012 - 02:22 PM.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Well, a physical collection of anything is something to be proud of, to show your dedication to whatever it is you collect. It's not clutter if you have it all neatly organized; I keep all my stuff on custom fit shelves I built myself. Games are alphabetically listed by system, controllers are arranged inside a custom controller cabinet I built and Systems are arranged in a network of power supplies and video splitters. It's like a well maintained city.

[Jave]

Well, my copy of Yoshi's Island ceased to function a long time ago... not long after, so did my SNES.

That said, there are games and albums and books and whatnot that I intend to hold onto for one reason or another, but since I'm not pulling them out to play them all the time, they can be put away. Other than that, I take a moment every couple of months to go through my games, and for each one on the shelf, I ask myself "do I really need to keep this?"

My copy of Opoona is staying right where it is, but Kurupoto Cool Cool Stars, or Chocobo's Dungeon... I enjoyed those games a ton, but yeah, they can probably go.

[BeauRosser]

This is what I have as a collection: http://i.imgur.com/k7NZy.jpg

That right there is how it should be. HORDERS.

Edited by BeauRosser, 09 May 2012 - 09:37 PM.

[Owozifa]

This is what I have as a collection: http://i.imgur.com/k7NZy.jpg

That right there is how it should be. HORDERS.

You stack from highest to lowest. I hate you. Forever.

[OCD]

[Dream]

Physical cartridges/discs are only good if you have a system to play them on. My NES doesn't work anymore so my NES cartridges are useless. Even if it did work, it would be packed up like so many other systems I've owned. I only want so many things connected to my tv at a time. If a system is not currently connected to my tv, it's pretty much like I don't have it or its games anymore. Sure I could hook it up to play it, but in practice I'll never bother to. So physical copies don't help me much and all those old games/systems are just clutter taking up space.

Even if systems are backwards compatible, we're eventually going to see what happened to the Vita. The system will not physically accept those old games. They may be capable of playing them (as Vita can play digital PSP games), but will not actually accept the discs. So for me, those discs would essentially be useless.

Now if Nintendo actually had a proper account system going, in theory I could keep carrying my virtual console titles forward to every new Nintendo system. Then all those games would actually accessible to me since I can play them on a system that is currently hooked up to my tv. Now whether it would actually work that way remains to be seen. We haven't yet seen how our digital purchases are going to carry forward to future systems and what issues could arise (and there could be many).

If digital does work in a consumer friendly way, then I would be glad to switch over completely. I have no desire for physical objects when a digital version produces the same result and is more convenient. I would also much rather look at my collection on a screen than on a shelf. It's easier to browse, I can sort/filter/etc, and if I want to play something I can push a button and start playing instantly (as opposed to having to take a disc out and put it back in the right place after). It would even be easier to show off my collection as others could see it even if they can't come to my house.

For Wii U games that I plan to keep, I will be picking up digital voucher codes from retailers when they go on sale or drop to a price that I think is reasonable (because I won't pay $60 for a digital game that I can't resell/lend/etc). I would only consider a physical copy if it's a game that I plan to play once and then sell or trade in. Sure it's possible that these digital games may not end up carrying forward to newer systems, but eventually Nintendo will release a system with no disc drive and then I'll be in the same boat anyway. So I'll take my chances with digital.

Edited by Dream, 10 May 2012 - 11:24 AM.

[Satoshi_Matrix]

Physical cartridges/discs are only good if you have a system to play them on. My NES doesn't work anymore so my NES cartridges are useless. Even if it did work, it would be packed up like so many other systems I've owned. I only want so many things connected to my tv at a time. If a system is not currently connected to my tv, it's pretty much like I don't have it or its games anymore. Sure I could hook it up to play it, but in practice I'll never bother to.

The North American NES-001 "toaster" is a pretty unreliable piece of hardware due manly to the ZIF connector and its tendency to collect dust. You can always easily disable the lockout chip which will solve the amjority of the issues, but in reality, you're much better off buying a replacement system. the NES-101 "the toploader" is a much better option as its far more reliable without the NES-10 at all, and if you can solder, you can build a new video amp and add in composite video. Alternatively, a Japanese AV Famicom is also a perfect solution, but then you'd need to buy a NES to Famicom adapter. The other solution is of course to simply buy a modern Famiclone and like the NOAC do all the work. I wrote a guide for all the various options if you're interested in figuring out which option is best for you.
http://satoshimatrix.wordpress.com/2011/04/06/nesfamicom-starting-guide/

As for having multiple systems hooked up at the same time, the solution to that is av switch boxes. They can for the most part be found pretty cheaply and allow you to hook up as many consoles as you have inputs. To just one tv alone I have two switch boxes in series that run:

AV Famicom
Super Famicom
N64
Nintendo GameCube
Wii
Sega CDX
Sega Saturn
Sega Dreamcast
Playstation 2
Xbox 1
Xbox 360
PS3

Any time I want to play any of those systems, they're all plugged in and ready to go. All I do is hit the corresponding button for the input to the tv, turn on the system and start playing. Below the systems I have all the controllers neatly tucked away in cupboards.

How to store all this? Look at online ads and you'll see tons of people in your area trying to get rid of TV entertainment centers, mostly for CRTs. Many of these things can hold a fleet of consoles and controllers plus a TV, CRT or not. I managed to score my cabinet absolutely free.

If you'd like I can post some photos.

[Wenny]

I like my combination Wii/PS3 to play games from the last several (and the current) generation. Takes up less space and the only game I'm missing out on that I really want is Earthbound but I've already played that twice so no real loss there.

[BeauRosser]

You stack from highest to lowest. I hate you. Forever.

[OCD]

I stack in the best possible way to limit cat-knock-overability. If my shelf had sides, then I would organize left to right like a normal person.

Edited by BeauRosser, 10 May 2012 - 05:02 PM.

[Dream]

Any time I want to play any of those systems, they're all plugged in and ready to go. All I do is hit the corresponding button for the input to the tv, turn on the system and start playing. Below the systems I have all the controllers neatly tucked away in cupboards.

How to store all this? Look at online ads and you'll see tons of people in your area trying to get rid of TV entertainment centers, mostly for CRTs. Many of these things can hold a fleet of consoles and controllers plus a TV, CRT or not. I managed to score my cabinet absolutely free.

Sounds like you've got a good setup. Hooking all the systems up is one thing, but physically arranging them was something I thought would be a huge mess (especially since most systems have wired controllers). But yeah it could work with the right entertainment center.

BTW nice guide on NES systems.

[Owozifa]

Yeah the problem I have is my couch is far enough away from my TV now that cables don't really reach. But I have a bedroom tube TV for retro consoles. I don't hook up all at the same time like that, but I have a system. It helps that most Nintendo consoles (Snes-GameCube) use the same video cable.